Mar 23, 2026; Interactive Event
S+T+ARTS Online-Colloquium: Iz Paehr "Feeling Virtual: An Archive of Touch" (English)
Katta Spiel (Assistant Professor for “Critical Access in Embodied Computing” at the HCI Group, Vienna University of Technology)
Dennis Wittchen (Research Associate, HTWD – University of Applied Sciences and Max Planck Institute for Informatics; Application Engineer, Hapticlabs GmbH)
Moderator: Masha Zolotova (Project Manager STARTS Prize | Festival – Prix – Exhibition, Ars Electronica)
The colloquium series “ECHOES OF TOMORROW” presents the artistic projects of ten artists from the STARTS Ec(h)o residency program and offers insights into the creative process behind these interdisciplinary collaborations.
This session offers an opportunity to learn more about "Feeling Virtual: An Archive of Touch", a project by artist and designer Iz Paehr developed in collaboration with Ars Electronica and the Salzburg Festival Archive.
Rooted in Iz Paehr’s interest in inclusive technologies and disability as a creative and epistemic position, the project explores how artistic input can challenge visually dominant virtual reality systems. Building from this perspective, the session opens a broader discussion on inclusivity in technological development and the structural biases embedded in interfaces, tools, and design standards. It asks whose bodies and senses are centred—or excluded—when new technologies are created, and how artistic practice can function as a critical method for rethinking access, participation, and agency in virtual and digital environments.
Sign up for the online colloquium here — a Zoom invitation will be provided: STARTS Ec(h)o – Online Colloquium – registration – Fill in form